Kerala plane crash: 30 CISF staff in quarantine

Thirty of the Central Industrial Security Force CISF staff deployed at Kozhikode airport who were the first rescuers to pull out passengers from the wreckage of Air India Express Flight IX 1344 DubaiKozhikode on the night of August 7 have been put in quarantine as a precautionary measureThe Deputy Commandant CISF Kishore Kumar in charge of the airport security and two Assistant SubInspectors Mangal Singh 56 and Ajit Singh 36 who have been nominated for the DGs CISF commendation disc for good work are also in quarantine However Kumar is reporting to work with restricted movementDy Commandant Kumar said We came to know that some of our frontline officers and personnel who were the first to reach out in the for rescue operation had sustained some minor injuries and cuts The next day we learnt that two of the air passengers who were rescued and taken to the hospital were detected COVID positive We also learnt that of the two passengers the woman who tested positive was declared dead on arrival at the hospitalNo one has shown symptomsIt is a precautionary measure and none of our personnel in quarantine have shown any symptoms In the next few days we will conduct tests for all the staff in quarantine Those whose test reports are negative will resume duty and for the those who test positive guidelines will be followed accordingly the Deputy Commandant addedKumar had reached the accident spot within eight minutes and was supervising the rescue operation mobilising the injured to hospitals along with volunteers and Airports Authority of India rescue teams I am restricting my movement to only my home and my office that is close by Though the airport is functioning like before the DGCA has restricted wide body airplanes until further orderHighly placed sources within Calicut airport informed midday that on an average around three to five Vande Bharat flights would arrive at Calicut airport from Dubai and on an average around 10 to 12 people would test positive for COVID19 on arrival and most of them would be asymptomaticSpeaking to midday Ajit Singh assistant subinspector who is in home quarantine and was the first to enter the plane soon after the incident said At that moment the only thing on my mind was to reach out to maximum passengers who were trapped inside the airplane I could pull out 14 to 15 of them and did not think anything about the risk involved in helping the passengers trapped I am in home quarantine while some of my colleagues are in separate quarantine centres which is few kilometers away from the airport areaCOVID warning to staff helpedDeputy Commandant Kumar who is a native of Kerala and has been in CISF service for the past 17 years added For the past few days Kondotty village which is around the airport periphery has been witnessing a steep rise in the number of COVID19 cases and the district administration has declared the village as containment area as over 200 positive cases were detected Since then we had given instructions to the CISF personnel not to venture outside the airport premises without any urgent work This helped as most of our personnel were available for the rescue operationSabil Ali with the girl he saved and the appeal about herCop saves little childSabir Ali is a Kerala police gunman who works as body guard of Abdul Karim Superintendent of Police Malappuram Ali and the SP reached the plane accident spot around 745 pm While looking for survivors Ali spotted a small girl lying unconscious near the plane wreckage and immediately informed his boss They revived the baby who was around two years of ageSpeaking to midday Ali said We had no clue about the parents of the baby and the SP informed me to take his official car and rush the baby to the nearest hospital which we reached by 830 pmAt the private hospital the doctors examined the baby and found her to be absolutely fine and she was discharged I was directed by the SP to take the child to Kondutty police station where she would be kept until her parents were traced The local taxi drivers took my picture with the child and then flashed on social media giving my contact number Around 2 am the relatives of the missing child reached the police station They informed that her name is Emrin Mohammed 2 and she was returning from Dubai with her mother Fathima Vadakkavil 28 and grandmother Laila Both had sustained leg injuries he addedAlso ReadKerala plane crash We heard a loud thud and screams of the crew members says survivorThe child was finally handed over to the relatives I am very proud of such a police officer who has ensured the safety and security of a kid in the Kozhikode plane mishap This is the real service rendered by the Kerala police to the people of the state said State DGP Loknath BeheraKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest 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